Would-Be iPhone Customers Still Facing Weeks-Long Waits

More than a month after the Apple iPhone 4S went on sale, the three largest U.S. wireless carriers are still struggling to keep up with customer demand for it.

Verizon Wireless customers may have to wait more than three weeks for the device, according to the carrier’s website. That compares with as much as 21 days at AT&T and up to 14 days at Sprint Nextel. While some tech blogs have suggested Apple’s manufacturing isn’t keeping pace, the carriers point to unexpectedly strong demand for the handset.

Tony Avelar/Bloomberg

An advertisement for the Apple Inc. iPhone 4S is displayed at a Sprint Nextel Corp. store in Palo Alto, Calif.

“We are having some supply issues in the sense that demand’s huge,” AT&T’s president of emerging devices, Glenn Lurie, said Wednesday. “We have had just record-breaking sales on it.”

The carriers are relying on the device to goose contract subscriber growth this quarter. Verizon Wireless and AT&T both reported slowdowns in iPhone activations in the most recent quarter, saying the more modest results were due to customers delaying action in anticipation of the latest model’s release.

U.S. retail sales rose 0.5% in October, beating expectations, and many economists said the fifth consecutive monthly increase for the indicator was due in part to the Oct. 14 introduction of the iPhone 4S model. The introduction helped spur a 3.7% increase in electronics sales. Apple may sell as many as 27 million iPhones globally in its fiscal first quarter, estimates Morgan Keegan analyst Tavis McCourt.

For Sprint, the device gives it an opportunity to boost contract subscriber rolls for the just the second three-month period since 2007. The Overland Park, Kan.-based carrier has shed 259,000 postpaid users this year, compared with gains of 712,000 at AT&T and 3 million for Verizon Wireless.

Jennifer Fritzsche, a Wells Fargo analyst, estimates Sprint could add 303,000 postpaid customers in the fourth quarter, largely on the strength of the iPhone.

A spokeswoman for Verizon Wireless, Brenda Raney, said the carrier is working with Apple to increase its inventory of iPhone 4S models. “Not only was the iPhone 4S popular when it was introduced, but the popularity continues to build,” she said. “We don’t want to keep our customers waiting for their purchases.”

“IPhone 4S is off to a great start with more than 4 million sold in its first weekend–the most ever for a phone and more than double the iPhone 4 launch during its first three days,” said Natalie Harrison, an Apple spokeswoman. She didn’t provide additional comment.

Mark Siegel, an AT&T spokesman, said the carrier is able to get the device out to customers within 10 days in many cases. A representative for Sprint had no immediate comment.

The carriers disclose sales results only as part of their quarterly earnings reports.

Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook said last month he expects to set a record for iPhone sales in the current quarter. “We are working hard to get iPhone 4S in customers’ hands as quickly as possible,” Cook told analysts.

Wireless customers in the southeastern U.S. have another option if they want the device sooner, regional carrier C Spire Wireless. The company, with about 1 million customers, has no reported shipping delays for the 4S.